That was a nice, if unexpected twist to the disclosure that his boss, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, had sent $82M in parks construction contracts to DCHA in such a way as to elude council oversight. For once, it seemed, Nickles had put the kibosh on a pet Fenty project.

The contracts-must-go-to-council opinion applies only to future contracts, not ones already awarded.

“Generally,” he writes in the memo, “retroactivity is not favored in the law.”

Speaking of retroactivity, DCHA spokesperson Dena Michaelson noted to LL over the weekend that her agency had been seeking a ruling from Nickles “since his appointment” as AG as to whether DCHA’s independent procurement authority applies to local-funded projects (as opposed to the federally funded projects that comprise most of the agency’s work). That didn’t come till Friday. “We are pleased that he has responded to our inquiries,” Michaelson says, “and that we finally have clarity.”

So, asks LL: Is this going to force that lawsuit that the council keeps threatening to file?